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FM invited to S. Arabia for briefing on Indian PMs visit
MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday he had been invited by his Saudi counterpart to Riyadh for taking him into confidence about the recent visit by the Indian prime minister to Saudi Arabia. Talking to reporters at the Multan airport, Mr Qureshi said he would go to Saudi Arabia on April 3. If a friend like Saudi Arabia comes forward for mediation between Pakistan and India, we will go ahead without hesitation.
In reply to a question about Indian intentions of seeking a Saudi role in resolving differences with Pakistan, the foreign minister said he thought India might not have sought it because it always discouraged a third-party involvement.
Mr Qureshi said he had no objection to meet the Indian foreign minister, but if negotiations were not fruitful he did not want to waste time. Pakistan wants result-oriented talks and meaningless negotiations are just wastage of time.
He said India was facing internal differences over the issue of resumption of dialogue with Pakistan. Some elements in India were opposing it because of the Mumbai attack, but a group in the media and Indian intellectuals was in favour of the talks.
Mr Qureshi said Pakistan had not only condemned the Mumbai attacks but also carried out investigations and arrested some important planners and suspects who were facing trail. He said Pakistan was facing Mumbai-like incidents on a daily basis and India should broaden its vision and realise that how a big challenge Pakistan was facing today.
The minister said that during the recent visit of President Hamid Karzai, Pakistan and Afghanistan had signed a joint declaration to fortify road, rail and air connectivity and upgrade the existing facilities to enhance bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2015.
He said Pakistan had offered assistance to Afghanistan in setting up new capacity-building institutions and upgrading the existing ones. He said the two countries had agreed to encourage people-to-people contacts, promote cultural exchanges and boost economic cooperation between Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.
Mr Qureshi said that like India, Pakistan also shared river water with Afghanistan, but they had no dispute over it. He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan had also agreed to revive the peace jirga for evolving a common strategy to combat terrorism.
In reply to a question, the foreign minister said the government was making sincere efforts for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui detained in the United States, adding that the issue had been raised with US officials at meetings of every level. He said that a team of lawyers had been hired in consultation with Dr Aafias family to defend her.
DAWN.COM | Front Page | FM invited to S. Arabia for briefing on Indian PM?s visit
MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday he had been invited by his Saudi counterpart to Riyadh for taking him into confidence about the recent visit by the Indian prime minister to Saudi Arabia. Talking to reporters at the Multan airport, Mr Qureshi said he would go to Saudi Arabia on April 3. If a friend like Saudi Arabia comes forward for mediation between Pakistan and India, we will go ahead without hesitation.
In reply to a question about Indian intentions of seeking a Saudi role in resolving differences with Pakistan, the foreign minister said he thought India might not have sought it because it always discouraged a third-party involvement.
Mr Qureshi said he had no objection to meet the Indian foreign minister, but if negotiations were not fruitful he did not want to waste time. Pakistan wants result-oriented talks and meaningless negotiations are just wastage of time.
He said India was facing internal differences over the issue of resumption of dialogue with Pakistan. Some elements in India were opposing it because of the Mumbai attack, but a group in the media and Indian intellectuals was in favour of the talks.
Mr Qureshi said Pakistan had not only condemned the Mumbai attacks but also carried out investigations and arrested some important planners and suspects who were facing trail. He said Pakistan was facing Mumbai-like incidents on a daily basis and India should broaden its vision and realise that how a big challenge Pakistan was facing today.
The minister said that during the recent visit of President Hamid Karzai, Pakistan and Afghanistan had signed a joint declaration to fortify road, rail and air connectivity and upgrade the existing facilities to enhance bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2015.
He said Pakistan had offered assistance to Afghanistan in setting up new capacity-building institutions and upgrading the existing ones. He said the two countries had agreed to encourage people-to-people contacts, promote cultural exchanges and boost economic cooperation between Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.
Mr Qureshi said that like India, Pakistan also shared river water with Afghanistan, but they had no dispute over it. He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan had also agreed to revive the peace jirga for evolving a common strategy to combat terrorism.
In reply to a question, the foreign minister said the government was making sincere efforts for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui detained in the United States, adding that the issue had been raised with US officials at meetings of every level. He said that a team of lawyers had been hired in consultation with Dr Aafias family to defend her.
DAWN.COM | Front Page | FM invited to S. Arabia for briefing on Indian PM?s visit
